The Power of Meaning Essay Outline
Description
The Power of Meaning Essay Outline
This outline is a starting-place for fulfilling each of the requirements of the prompt. Feel
free to modify it to accommodate your essay. That means you can add or subtract body
paragraphs from the outline. However, you’ll want to plan at least four body paragraphs
for this essay. The point is for you to create a detailed outline that works for you. I’m
looking for a specific and detailed outline. You can use bullet points, but I want to
see you’ve put significant time and energy into planning your essay. The more
thought you put into your outline, the easier it will be to write your essay.
As you write your outline, keep a few things in mind:
● Avoid using “you” in your outline in your essay. Instead, write “individuals”,
“people”, “me”, etc.
● Write about Smith’s ideas in the present tense. Ex: Smith argues, not Smith
argued.
Paragraph #1: Introduction
Attention grabber. Suggestions: pose a question, provide a thought-provoking quote,
use an analogy, provide a short personal story, etc. Just make sure your attention grabber
directly relates to the focus of your essay. 1-3 sentences.
Context and background information. For the purposes of this essay, this is a good
place to 1) introduce the book and the author 2) summarize Smith’s main argument in the
book, 3) define each of the four pillars of meaning 4) set context for your essay related to
the specific pillar you will be writing about. Note The Power of Meaning is not a novel.
It’s a non-fiction book. Novels are fiction/untrue stories. 5-6 sentences.
Thesis. Your thesis should identify the pillar you find most important, and answer the key
questions for this assignment: Which pillar do you think is best suited to help
individuals to cultivate more meaning in their lives during this specific time we are
living in?
Body Paragraphs
Your body paragraphs are places for you to present evidence to support your thesis.
Each body paragraph matters. What evidence do you need to show your reader in order
to convince them that your thesis is true — that the pillar you chose is important for
people to cultivate to meet this moment. Each body paragraph will need to contain a
thoughtful topic sentence that supports the thesis, evidence, and analysis. Creating a
successful outline means opening up your book / looking at your annotations to find the
most important pieces of evidence to include in your essay. You can use evidence from
any part of the book we’ve read so far, just make sure it supports your thesis that is
focused on a single pillar.
Body Paragraph #1
Your first piece of evidence. What is the first piece of evidence you want to share
with your reader?
● A full paragraph summarizing the pillar you are focusing on?
● Your personal connection to the pillar? Or personal analysis of why this pillar
is needed right now (this could connect to a present-day challenge). (You can use
personal experience in a maximum of two paragraphs in your essay. Remember:
this essay isn’t about “you” – it’s about the pillar).
● A specific piece of evidence from The Power of Meaning that you either quote
or paraphrase.
● Choose one.
1. Topic Sentence. What will this paragraph be about? 1-2 sentences:
2. Specific piece of evidence to support your topic sentence: Direct quote,
paraphrase, or summary from The Power of Meaning, personal experience, etc.
(2-3 sentences):
3. Interpret and analyze this evidence. Interpret the piece of evidence you chose.
What is it saying? What insight does it have to offer your reader? (2-3 sentences)
4. Make connections back to your argument and purpose. How does this piece of
evidence show the importance of your pillar? How does it support your thesis
statement? (1-2 sentences)
Body Paragraph #2: Next focus
What is the next claim you are making about why your pillar is important that you
want to share with your reader and support with evidence?
1. Topic Sentence. What will this paragraph be about? 1-2 sentences:
2. Specific piece of evidence to support your topic sentence: Direct quote,
paraphrase, or summary fromThe Power of Meaning, personal experience, etc. (2-3
sentences)
3. Interpret and analyze this evidence. Interpret the piece of evidence you present.
What is it saying? What insight does it have to offer your reader? (1-2 sentences)
4. Make connections back to your argument and purpose. How does this piece of
evidence show the importance of your pillar? How does it support your thesis
statement? (2-3 sentences)
Body Paragraph #3: Next focus
What is the next claim you are making about why your pillar is important that you
want to share with your reader and support with evidence?
1. Topic Sentence. What will this paragraph be about? 1-2 sentences:
2. Specific piece of evidence to support your topic sentence: Direct quote,
paraphrase, or summary fromThe Power of Meaning, personal experience, etc.
(2-3 sentences)
3. Interpret and analyze this evidence. Interpret the piece of evidence you
present. What is it saying? What insight does it have to offer your reader? (1-2
sentences)
4. Make connections back to your argument and purpose. How does this piece
of evidence show the importance of your pillar? How does it support your thesis
statement? (2-3 sentences)
Body Paragraph #4: Next focus
1. Topic Sentence. What will this paragraph be about? 1-2 sentences:
2. Specific piece of evidence to support your topic sentence: Direct quote,
paraphrase, or summary from The Power of Meaning; personal experience, etc.
(2-3 sentences)
3. Interpret and analyze this evidence. Interpret the piece of evidence you present.
What is it saying? What insight does it have to offer your reader? (1-2 sentences)
4. Make connections back to your argument and purpose. How does this piece of
evidence show the importance of your pillar? How does it support your thesis
statement? (2-3 sentences)
Body Paragraph #5: Next focus
1. Topic Sentence. What will this paragraph be about? 1-2 sentences:
2. Specific piece of evidence to support your topic sentence: Direct quote,
paraphrase, or summary from The Power of Meaning; personal experience, etc.
(2-3 sentences)
3. Interpret and analyze this evidence. Interpret the piece of evidence you present.
What is it saying? What insight does it have to offer your reader? (1-2 sentences)
4. Make connections back to your argument and purpose. How does this piece of
evidence show the importance of your pillar? How does it support your thesis
statement? (2-3 sentences)
Conclusion
Tie it all together. Emphasize why your argument matters. Why is this pillar of meaning
important for individuals to cultivate? How is this pillar connected to a larger meaning or
purpose? How and why is your informed advice about how to cultivate this pillar
meaningful and helpful for individuals? (5-6 sentences)
